Your home’s value is completely public
Many homeowners assume their property’s value is private unless they list it for sale, but that’s rarely the case. In many places, sale prices, tax assessments, and nearby comparable sales are accessible through public records and real estate platforms, making rough home-value estimates widely visible.
Even if you never plan to move, a surprisingly large amount of information can shape what others think your home is worth. Past sale prices, local tax assessment data, and recent neighborhood transactions often flow into public databases and real estate websites. The result is that an estimated value for a specific property can be easy to find, even when the estimate is not perfectly accurate.
Calculate house value by address
When people calculate house value by address, they are usually seeing an automated valuation model (AVM). AVMs combine data such as recorded sale history, property characteristics (square footage, lot size, bedrooms), and neighborhood-level market trends. Some models also incorporate listing data, price changes over time, and nearby comparable sales (often called “comps”). Because much of this information comes from public records or widely shared listing feeds, the estimate can appear quickly with only an address.
It’s important to understand what an AVM can and cannot do. It is typically strongest in areas with frequent, consistent sales (where comparable properties are easier to match) and weaker in rural markets, unique custom homes, or places where public data is sparse or delayed. Renovations that are not reflected in official records—like a new kitchen, insulation upgrades, or an added bathroom—may not be captured promptly, which can pull estimates below (or sometimes above) what a buyer would actually pay.
House value by address
Seeing a house value by address online does not necessarily mean that someone has access to confidential financial details. Most public-facing estimates are derived from records that are legally available in many jurisdictions: deed transfers, recorded sale prices (where disclosed), parcel attributes, and tax assessment histories. Even when a platform’s number is labeled as an “estimate,” the underlying inputs can still be public, and the estimate can spread as other sites copy or re-publish similar datasets.
Accuracy and meaning also vary by context. A tax assessment is typically designed for property taxation, not as a real-time market price, and it may lag behind current conditions. Meanwhile, an AVM is a market-oriented estimate, but it still cannot “see” condition, layout quirks, noise, views, or interior finishes the way a human would. If two otherwise similar homes have different maintenance levels or one has an unpermitted improvement, a model may treat them too similarly, creating a value that looks precise but is only an approximation.
What is my house worth now
If you’re asking, what is my house worth now, the most reliable way to interpret public estimates is to treat them as a starting point and then pressure-test them against reality. Recent, nearby sales of genuinely comparable homes (similar size, condition, age, and location) typically provide more insight than a single headline number. Market shifts can also happen quickly—interest rate changes, seasonal slowdowns, or a surge in local inventory can move prices before public records fully catch up.
Because home values are so visible, it also helps to separate “publicly visible” from “perfectly correct.” A public estimate may be directionally useful for tracking market movement, but it can be off by a meaningful margin for a specific property. That’s why professionals often reconcile multiple inputs: recent comps, current listings (your competition), time-on-market trends, and property-specific factors that databases don’t reliably capture.
Real-world cost and pricing insights vary depending on how precise you need the number to be. Many online AVMs are free to view, while more detailed valuation reports (often used by investors or analysts) may be paid. A professional, in-person appraisal is typically the most tailored option, but it costs more and pricing varies widely by country, region, and property complexity.
| Product/Service | Provider | Cost Estimation |
|---|---|---|
| Zestimate (online estimate) | Zillow | Free (online) |
| Redfin Estimate (online estimate) | Redfin | Free (online) |
| Automated home value estimate | Zoopla | Free (online; availability depends on market) |
| Property value estimate tools | Domain | Free (online; availability depends on market) |
| Professional appraisal (in-person) | Local licensed appraiser | Often a paid service; commonly a few hundred to over a thousand in local currency depending on scope and market |
Prices, rates, or cost estimates mentioned in this article are based on the latest available information but may change over time. Independent research is advised before making financial decisions.
A public home value is best understood as an information layer—not a final verdict. Public records, assessments, and AVMs make it easy for estimated values to circulate, but each source has limits and blind spots. For a clearer picture, rely on multiple data points and interpret any single number—especially an automated one—as an estimate that can differ from what the market would pay at a given moment.
